


The Secret's In The Telling

by orphan_account



Series: The Secret's In The Telling [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: M/M, RIP, The witchcraft is based on my own life experiences, Tumblr Prompt, Witch Jeremy, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-06 01:50:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11590509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Writing Prompt #207The farmer’s market always had a variety of interesting wares: fresh fruit, wooden carvings, and the newest stall offered voodoo dolls and curses on your worst enemy.A slight variant on this prompt where closeted witch Jeremy sells some charms at the farmer's market for some extra money! Everything seems like it's going to go downhill when his best friend shows up unexpectedly...





	1. Chapter 1

_Jeremy:_ hey!! I can't come over until a couple hours later these next few days. sorry : (  
_Michael:_ Okay that sounds fine! See u then  
_Jeremy:_ sorry, I got a job  
_Michael:_ JEREMY THATS AMAZING!  
_Jeremy:_ thanks! it's just retail though  
_Michael:_ STILL GREAT!  
_Jeremy:_ thanks!  
_Jeremy:_ see you tonight : )  
_Michael:_ See you tonight! ;)

Jeremy stared in shock at his phone, a blush rising to his cheeks. 

_Michael:_ * :)  
_Michael:_ sorry haha  
_Jeremy:_ no problem!! see you! 

Jeremy groaned and tossed his phone to the other side of his bed, pushing his thoughts about Michael's typo out of his head. He gently rolled over, squinting a little as the light from his window flowed over his face. Jeremy sighed in content as he felt the sunlight warm his skin. He slowly closed his eyes and smiled. These types of sunny, peaceful days were a close second to the relaxed, yet energetic days he shared with Michael. He could almost drift off to sleep like this, basking in the sun...

An ungodly alarm tone began to sound from Jeremy's forgotten phone. The teen jolted out of his peaceful state and sat up, rubbing at his eyes with one hand and reaching for his phone with the other. Jeremy groaned and entered his password. The cacophony finally stopped, and Jeremy was able to read the note attached: 'Farmer's market at noon!'

_Ugh, that's why you texted Michael in the first place! Get moving already!_

Jeremy checked the clock on his phone: it read 10:40. He sighed as he swung his legs off of the bed. He stood up and walked over to his dresser before plopping right back down onto his knees. After searching around in his unorganized drawers, Jeremy decided on what to wear. He pulled out a pair of grey jeans, his usual blue cardigan, and a black t-shirt with a picture of the moon on the front that Michael had bought him last year. Digging a bit further into his drawers, the teen brought out what he was really searching for. 

Jeremy smiled as he pulled out an old hatbox from within his dresser. It was black and showed serious signs of wear, from the various dents and discolorations on it to the small hole on the side _(Oh, I should really fix that!)_. Jeremy sat it on his floor and pulled his clothes on before picking the box back up again and setting it on his desk. Still smiling, he opened the box. 

Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. _Thank god. Just as I left it._ Despite his secrecy and the fact that his dad was barely even around, there was always a moment of fright when Jeremy took out this box.

Inside was an abundance of mismatched items. On one side of the box, a crumpled set of bills and multiple bundles of dried herbs lay clustered together. The sweet, overpowering smell of lavender wafted up from the old box. A small amount of crystals and a small jar of salt were set in between the herbs. Jeremy smiled, pulling his favorite crystal from the box- a tumbled rhodochrosite Michael got him when they were in 7th grade. Jeremy had all but swooned when he received it. 

"Unconditional love, forgiveness, self love." Jeremy smiled again before setting the stone on his desk. He frowned for a second, thinking of what Michael would say if he saw him using such a sentimental item for... unconventional purposes. Jeremy shook his head and tried not to think about it. 

The other side of the box was much more impressive. About fifteen homemade items were nestled in an old t-shirt to prevent them from breaking. Among them were two curled up witches ladders, three spell jars, a couple pentacles, and some other assorted items. This included five poppets: two for healing and happiness, and three for cursing, which is what sold the most. 

Jeremy himself didn't usually curse people. It wasn't his style. Of course, he had done a couple to see what they were all about when he was really angry. Still, Jeremy's magic aired more on the side of peace, general wellbeing, and quick fixes to things he was too lazy to do otherwise. But he also wanted to make some money, and nobody spends more than someone who's unhappy. The teen tried not to dwell on the six-hundred dollars he lost due to that same reason. 

Jeremy glanced at his phone's clock again, which read 11:30. He sighed, closing the lid on his beloved hat box and slipping the rhodochrosite into his pocket. He hummed some unknown song, _which Michael would probably know the name of,_ he thought, and slipped on his sneakers. He picked his hatbox up and slid his phone and some spare earbuds into his unoccupied pocket. Jeremy swallowed before opening the door to his room. 

"Dad, I'm going to Michael's!" Jeremy shifted from foot to foot awkwardly as he heard his dad walk into the hallway. He was, as usual, not wearing pants.

"Sure thing, kid. Be back at the usual time. Say, what's in the box?" 

"Uh, n-nothing, I really have to go, bye!" He was already out the door before his father even had the chance to respond.

Jeremy briskly walked towards the closest bus stop. This was going to be a long, but exciting day. As he neared the stop, he glanced around before opening his box, retrieving a couple ones, and shutting it again. A chorus of _"Everyone thinks you're a freak!"_ was drowning out all of Jeremy's other thoughts. He swallowed, let his mind drift to the precious stone in his pocket, and tried to calm down. 

He succeeded somewhat. Jeremy stepped onto the bus, breathing only a little bit faster than usual. He was getting better with that, between group therapy and Michael's support. He slid two dollars into the fare-box, muttered a small "good morning" to the bus driver, and made his way towards the back of the bus. There weren't that many people on at this time of day, as the morning commuters had already come and gone. Jeremy was able to find an unoccupied section at the back, where he sat his box down next to him. He looked out the window as the bus began moving and started to psych himself up for the day.

 _Be cool. You're cool. You don't even know anyone on this bus, or at the market, you're fine._

Jeremy pulled out his phone and plugged his earbuds in. He searched through his music before deciding to put on a playlist Michael had made for him. 311 started playing as Jeremy settled into his seat and stared out the window. 

-

Jeremy had first shown a slight interest in witchcraft in sixth grade. He could remember, clear as day, the time when some girl in his drama glass informed him that she was Wiccan. After a lengthy discussion on the semantics of Wiccan vs. witch, Jeremy was left confused, and far more than curious. A quick google search after school later, Jeremy's sudden interest in "gardening" was praised by his father. 

Throughout seventh grade, Jeremy was restricted to herbs. A "gardening obsession" was easy enough to maintain. Herbs overflowed on his desk and windowsill like never before. However, the plants Jeremy was proudest of weren't herbs at all. Two pots of gorgeous roses sat on the window next to his bed, lush and full and healthy. Whenever Michael came over, he couldn't help but compliment Jeremy's gardening skills. The taller boy would smile, and turn away in shame.

When Michael showed up at Jeremy's house on the last day of school with a beautiful piece of tumbled rhodochrosite, Jeremy was estatic. He was also in love, but he didn't dwell on that part. When Jeremy found out what the smooth, pink stone represented, he began amassing a small collection of his own crystals. But no matter how pretty the crystals he got were, the rhodochrosite always stood front and center in Jeremy's heart. 

Eighth grade was a blur of horror and preparation for high school. It didn't leave much room for collecting, but Jeremy dutifully kept his roses and herbs alive. It wasn't until the second semester of freshman year that he got into spellwork. Nothing too big, only a spell for luck on a test here or there. That was, until one of his classmates decided to harass Michal, yelling out a plethora of slurs. It took days to get Michael back to being himself, but only a couple minutes to send out his first (and strongest) curse. When Michael told him that their classmate got a mysterious case of strep throat, Jeremy was too happy to feel guilty.

-

Jeremy felt the bus come to a stop. He glanced out his window once more. The teen picked his hatbox up once more and filed off of the bus, holding it close to his chest. Jeremy breathed in the clean air and observed the quiet market in front of him. Walking towards the table he had set up yesterday, he knew today was going to be great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song title is named after the Dashboard Confessional song, give em a listen. I hope y'all liked it, constructive criticism is always appreciated!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy sells his cool crafts. A surprise visit ensues, and he freaks out quite a bit.

"This is so cool." 

Jeremy grinned, setting his hatbox on his very own stand at the farmer's market. He sighed, feeling the sun warm his face in contrast to the cool, crisp air. It was a gorgeous summer day, Jeremy was about to make money, and he didn't have to hide his practices right now. Needless to say, it was shaping up to be a pretty good week. Jeremy had rented the stand for two days in case he had things he hadn't sold yet. _Two days,_ he thought, smiling lazily.

Looking around, Jeremy could see that the farmer's market was full of fantastic stands. There were too many fruit stands to count, and they filled the air with the sweet smell of apples and peaches. A couple stands served baked goods, and Jeremy saw one specializing in pie that he _had_ to check out later. The stand next to his was more unique, and had plenty of ornate wooden carvings. Jeremy was certain that once he displayed his handmade items his stand would fit right in. People were already milling about the market, but Jeremy was sure that it wasn't even noon yet. 

Jeremy took another glance at his phone's clock. It read 11:50, confirming his suspicions. Ready to get his table set up before anyone came his way, Jeremy opened the hatbox and carefully took out his wares one by one. He unfurled his first witch's ladder, which had an abundance of shiny feathers braided into it. He laid it down on the far right of the table and grabbed the second ladder (which had matte, cream colored seashells instead) and sat it down as well. Jeremy walked around to his side of the table and ducked under it, grabbing a small, flat box. He rose back up, coming face to face with a grinning stranger.

"Hiya!" _"Jesus!"_ The stranger and Jeremy spoke (or screamed, in Jeremy's case) at the same time. Jeremy began to apologize, but the stranger was already rambling on.

"Wow, I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to scare you! I love what you've set out so far! You know, I have one just like that at home! My name's Madison. Nice to meet you!" The not-so-stranger stuck out their tanned hand. Jeremy hesitantly reciprocated the gesture and shook their hand. Madison was tiny, they appeared to be a solid foot shorter than Jeremy. They blew the tangled hair out of their face before setting their hands in their pockets.

"T-thanks. Which stall are you running?" 

"Oh, that's me, right next to ya!" Madison broke out into a lopsided smile, pointing to the carvings Jeremy had seen earlier. "If you need anything, I'll be just over here! Pleasure meeting you! Do come by later on in the day, okay?" Jeremy could only nod as they walked away. 

_Interesting people,_ Jeremy thought, still winded from the one-sided conversation. He shook his head and opened the box he had pulled out. It contained four clean, homemade labels to set in front of his crafts. Jeremy resumed pulling things out of his other box, setting his three spell jars on the other side of the table. He propped up two of his labels, which read 'Spell Jars: $10 each' and 'Witch Ladders: $15 each.' 

Jeremy smiled as he took out the handful of poppets. They were about seven inches tall each, and made to vaguely resemble humans. The two intended for happiness and prosperity were light blue and stuffed with felt, bay leaves, and chamomile. Inside each was a small chip of green aventurine. The three poppets intended for cursing were black and stuffed with red pepper, poison ivy, and just a couple shards of broken glass (safely, of course). Jeremy liked the latter better, _for the aesthetic._

Jeremy set the poppets down on the table. He grabbed the two remaining labels, which read 'Poppets - for cursing or happiness: $20 each' and 'Pentacles: $5 each.' As he set the labels down, he heard a woman's voice.

"Well hello! You've got a very interesting stand set up, young man." 

Jeremy glanced up from his box to see an old lady standing in front of him. He fumbled to pull all of his pentacles out of the box and set them under their designated label. "Uh, thanks, ma'am. A-are you interested in anything?" 

The woman glanced at Jeremy's wares. Her eyes lingered on one of his pentacles, and she picked it up. "Five bucks, huh?" She turned it over in her hands and held it up to her chest, as if trying on a necklace. "I'll take it." She procured ten dollars from her purse and held it out to Jeremy.

"Oh, it's only five!" 

"Take the extra. I'm proud to be your first customer." She gleamed and pressed the money into his hands, picked up her purchase, and meandered away. "Best of luck!"

"Uh, thank you!" Jeremy called back. He opened the small box which had originally held his labels and set the money inside. _First purchase was a success,_ he thought happily. Jeremy reached under his table again and pulled an old folding chair from underneath it. He popped it open and sat down, watching people come and go in content, soaking up the sun. Throughout the day, people meandered by Jeremy's stand. Some were intrigued, and most were impressed, but a select few were the embodiment of his worst fears. 

"What do you mean, 'witch's ladders'? Is this devil worshipping?!" 

Jeremy's head snapped up. "Uh, no, sir! These are just good luck charms!" He grimaced at the man in front of him, who was tapping his foot and raising an eyebrow in clear judgement.

"Yeah, but it says _witch._ Are you a devil worshipper, son?" The man scoffed. "I just can't believe they would let people like you sell stuff like this at a family event." Jeremy's chest tightened and he started to breathe faster. The man rolled his eyes and walked away. 

The rest of the day was uneventful, though Jeremy sat in fear of another judgmental brute. These thoughts were mainly quieted by the sheer amount of support he was getting from everyone else. All that remained on his table was one witch's ladder, the smallest spell jar, two pentacles, and two poppets. Two thirds of his wares had sold already, and Jeremy was hopeful that by the end of the day they would all be gone. _A hundred dollars already!_ Jeremy beamed as he looked at his profits. _This was such a good idea._

"Uh, hello! This is some cool stuff you have set out." 

Jeremy looked up at the sound of the fragile voice. "Hey, thanks! Are you interested in anything?" 

The girl smiled and picked up the last of his cursing poppets. "Yeah, actually. What's the, um, process for these?" 

Jeremy smiled and stood up. "Oh! Well, it's stuffed with red pepper, poison ivy, and a little bit of glass." At the sight of her frightened face, he perked up. "Don't worry! It's all wrapped inside safely. If you have anything representing your target, like a picture or some hair, fill it up through the cut in its back." Jeremy pointed at the small slit he was referring to. "Put as much intent into it as you can. Think about what they've done wrong. You can say some stuff on your own, or the internet has some great ideas. It's really easy, trust me, I've done it before with great results." Jeremy laughed. 

"That doesn't sound too hard," she said. "You know, I think I'll take it-" 

She was interrupted, and Jeremy and his customer turned their heads to the right in confusion. Madison was at their stand, squealing in... fear or joy? Jeremy couldn't tell. Madison was chattering to someone, and they pointed at Jeremy while making wide hand gestures. He turned his gaze to who Madison was talking to and saw someone oddly familiar. _Wait, I know that sweatshirt. Wait. Wait!_

"Shit!" Jeremy stumbled back. He debated ducking under his table, but Michael was already walking over. 

"Uh, are you okay?" The customer raised her eyebrows. 

"I'm, oh, f-fuck! I know him," Jeremy whispered, "And this is _not_ good." Jeremy could do nothing except watch as Michael waved and approached his table. 

"Jeremy! Dude, is this the job you were talking about?" Michael smiled, his eyes locked on Jeremy's. It was only a matter of seconds before his gaze drifted down, and... "Uh, Jeremy? What... what are you selling?" 

Jeremy mentally cursed himself and tried to muster up a smile. The customer cringed, muttered a small "good luck, sorry," and silently handed over twenty dollars before bolting off, poppet in hand. Jeremy set the money in his box and noticed his hands were shaking. 

"Jeremy, are you okay?" Michael looked sympathetic, but confused. "I have to admit, I thought you were Jewish, buddy. If you're, like, Satanic or something-" 

"What?!" Jeremy screeched, drawing the attention of various passerby. "I'm- I'm not," he said, lowering his voice. He noticed his voice was shaking, too. "I'm not S-satanic or something." 

"Well," Michael said slowly, "If you _were,_ I hope you know I'd still be your friend. So long as you don't, like, kill small animals and stuff." 

"M-Michel! I'm not Satanic, oh my god!" Jeremy flopped back into his folding chair and set his head in his hands. "I am. Jewish, I mean! Not Satanic. Let me m-make myself clear." Michael let out a small smile. 

"It's fine, buddy. Make yourself clear." 

"I'm," Jeremy choked on his words. _Fuck, I'm about to do this. Oh my god, he hates me. He thinks I'm a freak. He's lying, he's not going to be my friend anymore. He hates me, he hates me, he hates me-_

"Jeremy!" Michael rushed over to the his friend's side of the table. "You're hyperventilating, please calm down." He put a reassuring hand on Jeremy's and started rubbing circles into his back. "Jeremy, whatever you're thinking, I know it's not true. You're my best friend, I'll love you no matter what you sell at the farmer's market, for god's sake." 

Jeremy's breathing started to slow. He shuddered, leaning into Michael's hand. "Okay, p-please don't get mad."

"Promise I won't." Michael snaked his other arm around his friend's side, wrapping him in a hug. Jeremy immediately reciprocated, throwing his arms around Michael's and exhaling into his shoulder. From their stand, Madison gave Michael a thumbs up and pantomimed reaching into their pockets. 

"Tell me when you're ready, bud, but I have something I wanna show you." Michael pulled away from Jeremy and reached into his sweatshirt's pocket. From it, he retrieved an ornate wooden carving. "I got it from the stand next to yours. When I told them it was for my friend Jeremy, they directed me over here. I hope you like it." Michael turned away, blushing, and shoved it into his friend's hands. 

Jeremy turned the carving over in his hands, a blush traveling up his face. "Michael, this is amazing. Thank you." 

"I'm... I'm glad you like it. It's a rose, 'cause I know you never let the ones near your window die. You seem to really love them, and as soon as I saw it I thought of you." 

They stood in silence, Jeremy running his fingers over the carving, and Michael watching with a smile. Groups of people passed by the stand, looking on in adoration at what they assumed was a young couple. They weren't far from the truth. 

"Okay," Jeremy breathed. "Let me start from the beginning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all!! Thanks so much for your support on the first chapter. I loved writing this so much!! Chapter three may come out a little slower than this one did because I'm on a trip right now :,( As always, constructive criticism is appreciated!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy explains some things to Michael. The boys get pie. It's a good time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOOD GRIEF!!! I am sosososo sorry this took so long! I had the worst case of writer's block ever.

The sun shined brightly overhead, warming Jeremy's skin. He sighed before taking off his trademark cardigan, folding it up and setting it on the table. He was starting to overheat, between the sun and his fright revolving around Michael. His hands began to sweat, and he wiped them on his jeans before taking a deep breath in.

 _This is going to turn out awful,_ Jeremy thought.

"Alright, it's a long story. Do you... do you want to hear it all?" Jeremy nervously tucked a piece of hair behind his ear.

"Sure, buddy, whatever you want." Michael plopped down on the grass and rested his back against Jeremy's stand. 

"Okay. Well, it started in sixth grade. There was this Wiccan girl in my drama class, and she kinda got me into it. I'm not Wiccan," Jeremy said hastily, his eyes bolting up to meet Michael's. "I _am_ Jewish. But, I got really into..." Jeremy trailed off, nervous.

"Into...?" Michael prompted, giving a reassuring smile to his friend. 

"Into witchcraft," Jeremy blurted out. "I, uh, started with just herbs and stuff. And those roses. They're my favorite." He smiled, running his hands over the carving Michael had gotten him. "A-and then you gave me that rhodochrosite, and knowing what it meant, I got super into everything else. And once we got into high school, I started doing spells. So, uh, that's pretty much it, and I'm sorry if it's weird and if you would feel better if I s-stopped or whatever-" 

"Jeremy, it's _fine._ I promise. I don't hate you, and I never could, you're my best friend, I love you! I'm happy you told me, but I'm sorry you felt like I wouldn't be cool with it." Michael smiled, reaching for Jeremy's unoccupied hand. He gave it a squeeze. "And dude?"

"Yeah?" A blush started to form on Jeremy's face.

"You kept that rock I gave you?" 

Jeremy smiled, chuckling a little. He thought about Michael's hand on his, and where they were now, and the way Michael's face looked so radiant under the sun, and he started to laugh. He threw his head back, laughing so hard his shoulders shook. And for the first time in a while, he knew he was really happy. "You know? I guess I did." 

Michael snorted, looking up at his friend with admiration. Jeremy was still shaking with gentle laughter. Michael started to cackle as well, and he stood up, embracing Jeremy in a huge hug. They stood like that for a while, basking in the sunlight in each other's arms. Jeremy's laughter quieted, and he pulled away slowly. 

"Michael, thank you for being so cool." 

"Jeremy, don't worry about it." Michael sighed in content before pointing at Jeremy's table. "But I do have a question."

"Yeah?" 

"This says cursing. Have you cursed anyone? Because that's _so_ cool."

Jeremy chuckled. "Yeah, like, twice."

"Well tell me a story, dude!" Michael sat down against the table again, laying his legs in front of him. He beamed up at Jeremy from the grass, taking his friend's hand and holding it again. "This is all interesting as hell." Jeremy blushed and smiled. 

"Okay. Well, you know that jerk in freshman year? In our science class?"

"Yeah, dude! The one that called me a... you know." Michael's face twisted, before lighting up in realization. "Holy shit. Are you telling me you cursed him?! Jer, that's _awesome!"_

"Well, he was being awful to you! So I stepped in, and a couple days later, he came in with _strep throat._ It was great. And that's the first, and coolest, time I've cursed someone." Jeremy smiled, looking down at his and Michael's hands. "It was totally worth it." 

"Jeremy, I gotta say, I'm proud to be the reason you cursed someone. That's pretty cool." 

"Yeah, man, I'd do it again in a heartbeat." 

_Heartbeat,_ he thought, suddenly aware of how fast his own heart was beating. Michael's hand was heavy in his, and he looked down at his best friend, who was gleaming back up at him. Jeremy gulped and quickly retracted his hand. Michael drew his own back, setting it on the grass. 

"So, uh, I should pack this up for the day," Jeremy said awkwardly. Michael's eyebrows raised in confusion. 

"Really? It's kind of early! Don't stop on my account." 

"Oh, I'm not!" Jeremy stood up from his chair. He stretched his arms above his head, yawning. It had been a long day. He pulled the hatbox out from under his table and began to put his few remaining wares inside. "I have this stand for another day, and more stuff at home. I'll just come back tomorrow and sell some more stuff."

"Oh, cool!" Michael stood up as well, bracing himself against the table. "Can I come with?" 

Jeremy dropped the box he was currently holding, letting it fall with a thud to the grass. He turned to Michael, surprised. "You want to hang out with me at a farmer's market all day while I sell weird stuff?"

"Dude," Michael said, picking the box up and setting it in Jeremy's still outstretched hands. "I'd love to! I hang out with you all day anyway, and just chilling outside sounds fun." 

Jeremy smiled, grabbing his box of money. "Great," he said, softly. "That sounds great. before we leave, though, could we get one of those pies? I've been watching them sell all day." 

Michael chuckled, picking up Jeremy's cardigan and draping it over his friend's shoulders. "Hell yeah."

-

Michael and Jeremy approached the stand, drooling at the smell of homemade pie. Behind the stand was a blonde man currently facing the other way. He heard Michael and Jeremy approach, and turned around, smiling.

"Well hello! How can... Oh." The man's face soured, and Jeremy drew in a sharp breath as he realized who was standing in front of him. 

"I- We- Uh, we just w-want pie," Jeremy said hopelessly. The man raised his eyebrows. Michael looked between the two in confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the man.

"Hmph. Still selling those _good luck charms,_ son?" 

"No! We're d-done for the day." Jeremy took a step back, pulling the boxes against his chest. He was standing just behind Michael's side, subconsciously protecting himself. Michael immediately noticed, taking another step in front of Jeremy and straightening his back. 

"Look. Last time I checked, your sign says pie for sale. Not shitty asshole opinions for sale. So shut the fuck up and let us buy some pie." Michael turned back to Jeremy who was standing with wide eyes. He smiled. "Right buddy?"

"Y-yeah!" Jeremy swallowed.

"Twenty dollars," the man sighed, a scowl on his face.

Jeremy struggled to open one of his boxes and pulled out a twenty. He handed it to Michael, who passed it on to the man. 

"Alright, Jer, what kind?" 

Jeremy's eyes scanned over the array of pies before them. "Uh, blackberry."

"Nice choice," Michael said sweetly, picking up the pie. "Come on." He wrapped a hand around Jeremy's arm, gently leading him away as he put up his middle finger to man. They meandered over to the bus stop, collapsing onto the bench and setting their boxes and pie down with them. Jeremy thought about struggling to pull money out of his box again and made the decision to pull out some money for him and Michael before the bus arrived.

"Smart," Michael said awkwardly. "What was his deal?"

"He, uh, wasn't c-cool with the whole witch thingy. He made a p-point to walk over and call me out on it," Jeremy said. He cringed as he folded up the money, putting it in his cardigan's pockets.

"Curse him," Michael said.

"I... I don't thing you understand? I shouldn't just curse random people..." 

"Curse him," Michael reiterated.

Jeremy smiled. "No. But I like your dedication." 

The bus rolled up to their stop, and Michael stood up, grabbing Jeremy's hand and helping him up as well. Michael picked up their pie as Jeremy picked up his boxes. They stepped onto the bus.

"Michael, could you grab that money for me?" 

Michael's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, yeah!" He moved the pie from one hand to his other and dug around in Jeremy's pocket, pulling out a crumpled set of ones. He deposited them in the fare box and followed Jeremy to the back of the bus. They slumped down onto the torn seats, Jeremy sandwiched between his pile of boxes and Michael's warm body. 

The day had been long, and it didn't quite end like Jeremy and Michael thought it would. But deep down, Jeremy knew it ended the way it needed to. As he slipped one hand into his pocket to find his beloved rhodochrosite, his other hand slowly made its way towards Michael's long fingers. He received no verbal confirmation, but as Michael's hands laced with his, a faint blush in the corner of his eye was confirmation enough.

_I think this turned out alright._


End file.
